A convincing win over Auburn Riverside secured the Enumclaw High girls water polo team a spot in the state tournament.
Saturday’s victory improved the Hornets’ record to 14-3, 7-2 in league. The Hornets have clinched second place in the East Division of the South Sound Girls Water Polo League, and a trip to the state tournament, scheduled for May 13, 15 and 16 at Rogers High in Puyallup.
The Hornets were scheduled to host state champion Curtis High Tuesday, results will be available at www.courierherald.com, before closing their league schedule at 5:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, at Auburn. The Hornets will host Gig Harbor at 4:30 p.m. Thursday for their last game of the regular season.
Enumclaw qualified for state for the fourth year in a row by beating Auburn Riverside 12-8 Thursday. The Hornets also picked up two more nonleague wins – a come from behind overtime victory over Rogers April 28, and a less dramatic 17-1 win over Stadium Saturday.
The Hornets beat Rogers 7-6 in overtime at Rams’ pool in Puyallup.
Both teams started slowly and carried a 1-1 tie into the second quarter. Rogers kept Enumclaw scoreless in the second period, and took a 2-1 lead at halftime. The Rams went on a scoring spree during the third period, while holding Enumclaw scoreless for another seven minutes to stretch their lead to 4-1 entering the final frame.
After Rogers scored less than a minute into the final quarter, the Hornets called their second time out to collect themselves. With four minutes remaining in the game, and trailing the Rams 5-1, the Hornets scored three goals – one each by Lindsay Bowden, Tianna Hogan, and Kaitlyn Korsch – within two and a half minutes, to trail the Rams 5-4 with 90 seconds left in the game.
After two scoreless possessions by the Rams, Enumclaw’s Bowden scored at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to overtime.
The Rams scored first, less than a minute into the first three-minute overtime period, but Hogan scored a minute later to tie the game again at six. Bowden scored 20 seconds into the second overtime period on a Hornet power play, to give Enumclaw the win.
Scoring for Enumclaw were Bowden, with four goals, Hogan with two, and Korsch with one. The Hornet defense had another excellent performance with 27 steals – including seven each by Bowden and Erin Stucker. Goalkeeper Shaye Hogerhuis gathered 17 saves and added an assist.
Thursday, EHS traveled to Auburn Riverside, both teams were tied in league play with two losses. The 12-8 Hornet win clinched second place in the East Division and an automatic berth at the state tournament for Enumclaw.
The Hornets battled a physical Raven defense and aggressive offense, but maintained a lead throughout the game, after taking a 2-1 lead with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.
Enumclaw pressured Riverside with a physical defense of their own that resulted in 10 exclusions and five penalty shots on the Hornets. Seven of Riverside’s eight points were a result of power plays or penalty shots.
Hornet scoring was led by Hogan, with five goals. Also scoring for Enumclaw was Bowden, with four goals, and Korsch, Angie Brazier, and Stucker with one goal each. The Hornet defense also managed 25 steals, led by Bowden, with nine, and Hogan, with seven. Hogerhuis anchored the defense with 20 saves in goal, and added two assists to the offense.
Saturday, the Hornets scored a decisive 17-1 win over Stadium in a nonleague contest at the Enumclaw Aquatic Center.
Enumclaw controlled Saturday’s game from the opening possession, scoring 18 seconds into the game on a goal by senior Korsch. High scorer for the Hornets was Bowden, with five goals; also scoring were Korsch, with three goals; Rachel Deonigi and Ali Ballard, with two scores each; and Brooke Flaquinti, Kelsey Sonneson, Angie Brazier, Stucker, and Kelsey Brazier with one goal each. Hogerhuis had five assists on offense and 16 saves.
